Novel psychoactive substances: The challenges for health care, analytical science and the law

Designer or synthetic drugs of abuse are a growing problem for legislators, law enforcement and health care providers. The rapidly modified chemical structure of such substances means that not only are their legislative categorisations uncertain and fluid but their health effects remain largely unclear with little opportunity for timely research that could be used to support patients with problems. For the forensic medical and scientific community the lack of validated drug standards for these newly emerged chemicals makes analysis problematic. The need for drug intelligence communication and drug surveillance systems has never been greater.The creation of, as well as wider access to, national and international data bases of new and emerging synthetic drugs would go some way to address the forensic analytical and health care problems that these substances create.